Leading Programs Abroad
Faculty and staff are key to the success of study abroad at Virginia Tech - guiding students' learning and development in remarkable ways. Program leaders are the frontline for study abroad promotion and are the cornerstone on which programs are created and run.
How do I...
We recommend you start planning 12-18 months out from the term for which you are proposing.
The first step is get the conversation started with your college’s Global Education Liaison and GEO's Faculty-Led Program Manager. These contacts will let you know about specific deadlines and proceedures and can assist you with budget and proposal development.
All programs must be led by at least one Virginia Tech faculty member. A volunteer can be designated at the secondary support individual. University policy requires that an additional support individual be designated for every 15 students in group size, and it is highly recommended that even for groups of less than 15 there be a second designated individual who can be called on in an emergency situation.
Virginia Tech Policy 1070: Global Travel Policy requires university employees leading either credit-bearing or co-curricular student groups abroad to complete training every two years in order to lead students abroad programs. To meet this requirement, faculty leaders will first attend New Program Leader Training and then every two years attend Program Leader Community Update. These trainings are offered several times a semester and the dates for the training are published as a Campus Notices in the daily email.
GEO facilitates dozens of faculty-led programs from every college. See what programs are in each college or search for programs by location, college, or subject on Terra Dotta, our program database.
